By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com This isn’t your normal task force. In fact, the FBI is calling it the Hybrid Task Force, and its goal is to pursue drug dealers and violent criminals, KMOX reports. “The task force has two focuses,” St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said. “One is an interdiction piece that long term…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Justice Department blasted the police response to the Ferguson protests and riots, saying police violated free-speech rights, antagonized and intimidated crowds with military-style tactics and protected officers from being held accountable, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The police were accused of “vague and arbitrary” orders to force protesters to move,…
By St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board The story of Ferguson has been told in pictures. First was the body of 18-year-old Michael Brown, face down on Canfield Drive in a pool of blood, killed by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson. That picture went viral, shared wildly on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by a legion of people…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Not enough evidence exists to bring civil rights charges against the white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, investigators for the Justice Department said. The Washington Post reports that the Justice Department is reluctant to acknowledge the lack of evidence because of high tensions in the…
By St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board A few numbers indicate a civil rights investigation of the Ferguson Police Department is long overdue. On Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Department of Justice will begin such an inquiry. This is an important and positive step forward, but we suspect when he gets into the numbers,…
The FBI has launched a civil rights investigation to determine what prompted a police officer to shoot an unarmed blacked teenager in a St. Louis suburb on Saturday afternoon. The New York Times reports the inquiry into Michael Brown’s death came on the third day of protests. Ferguson, a city of 21,000 residents, has a history…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Civil unrest over the fatal shooting of a black teenager by police turned into looting and vandalism Sunday evening as investigators try to piece together what happened. The Associated Press reports that the St. Louis County chapter of the NAACCP is urging the FBI to take over the case of 18-year-old Michael…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com While visiting the bureau’s St. Louis office, FBI Director James Comey pledged to help police chiefs in the region combat violent crime, St. Louis Public Radio reports. St. Louis Metropolitan Police chief Sam Dotson asked for help with chronic gun offenders. “Missouri, in my opinion, has some of the more lax gun…
